RG3 needs work on locker room presence

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, left, talks with Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss on the sidelines against the Seattle Seahawks at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. on Oct. 6. Griffin’s aloofness has been an issue in the locker room.(Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

WASHINGTON – You wonder what it will take for the Washington Redskins to finally accept that Robert Griffin III is a much bigger project than they envisioned. No matter how hard Griffin works to improve on the field, he has even further to go off of it.

Before being elected to the Hall of Fame last week, Tim Brown revealed another area in which Griffin must make major changes, telling ESPN 980 that the quarterback's poor social skills hamper his ability to lead. His fellow Heisman Trophy winner lacks the personality needed to build lasting bonds with teammates, Brown added, and that's a problem for someone who plays the game's most important position. It has been since Griffin joined the Redskins.

Brown said publicly what some of Washington's coaches and players have shared with me privately: Griffin's aloofness has been an issue in the locker room. Combine that with Griffin's poor performance the past two seasons and a Super Bowl-sized ego that tripped him up after his magical rookie year, and it's clear Griffin isn't close to becoming the player the Redskins need him to be. And the team's efforts to change Griffin began in the wrong area.

Before trying to fix Griffin in the pocket, the Redskins should have focused on helping him learn to interact better with the people on whom he must depend most. How a quarterback is viewed by his teammates plays a key role in whether a team succeeds. That's what Brown was getting at.

Brown knows Griffin "well enough to know that he's a little different," the nine-time Pro Bowler told the radio station. "I mean, I know he is maybe not the brother that you're gonna be hanging out in the locker room with.

"And from that standpoint, that's something that he has to work on. If he's going to be a leader, he has to be a leader of everybody in the locker room, and not just one or two guys in the locker room."

To create a winning program, head coaches must be feared or respected; they're in charge. It's different with quarterbacks, who are part of the NFL's player workforce — albeit the highest-paid part.

For quarterbacks to excel, it helps to have their teammates' trust. Players need to believe that they're rolling with the right field leader, and that foundation is built long before the ball is snapped.

It starts while sharing laughs about their personal lives before practice and rapping about concerns in the trainers' room at the end of the day. It's nurtured over dinner throughout the season and late-night card games on chartered flights. That's when players let their teammates in. Griffin rarely opens his door.

While many players grew closer during Washington's 2012 season-closing, seven-game winning streak, Griffin remained distant from the group, people in the organization say. After work is finished, he's not the type to kick it with the fellas.

That's not to suggest Griffin has no friends on the team. He has let his guard down with some — but not nearly enough. It's the same way when Heisman Trophy winners get together, Brown said.

"He's ... he's tough," Brown said. "He's a different guy, you know? And there's no laughter, there's no let me get in here with the boys. Everybody's telling jokes on each other, and nobody's trying to be mean. But you say something to him and it's like 'oh wow really? Really?'

"So instead of taking it further, what ends up happening is [it's like] he's not in the room. So you end up talking around him the whole time. And that's not cool. Because now you're literally having to talk around a guy, [when] everybody else is in here having fun and having a jovial time."

Some Redskins fans may consider Brown's comments much ado about nothing. It's definitely true that the being one-of-the-guys stuff isn't as important as playing well. But Griffin hasn't performed consistently well in a long time.

Coaches sometimes stick with a struggling starter, in part, because of the player's standing among his peers. Perhaps Griffin's position on the Redskins would be stronger if he spent half as much time getting to know his teammates as he does promoting his brand. After three seasons in the NFL, Griffin still doesn't get that.

"That's just something that he has to understand," Brown said. "This is a team sport you're playing. It's not golf. If it was golf, brother, I'd say go for it, do what you do. But if you're going to play a team sport, and you're going to be the leader of a team sport, you've got to loosen up a little bit and be a part of the team."

It seems that's not in Griffin's nature. And to hear Brown and others tell it, being a successful NFL quarterback may not be either.